Tag: Colin Castleton

ESPN’s Basketball Power Index bumps Gators up after win

The Gators saw a very modest improvement in its spot on the BPI rankings.

The ball finally bounced in Florida’s favor on Wednesday night as the Gators broke through and snapped a three-game losing skid that has put their NCAA Tournament hopes in peril. Certainly, one can give the team mulligans for the road losses against the Alabama Crimson Tide and Kentucky Wildcats, but the home loss to the Vanderbilt Commodores last Saturday was inexcusable.

Fortunately, [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag]’s gang came out shooting on Wednesday night and cruised to a 79-64 home win despite losing [autotag]Colin Castleton[/autotag] to a hand injury early in the second half. The victory did not make many waves in the objective rankings but it would be much worse if it had been a loss.

The Orange and Blue entered the game ranked No. 42 in ESPN’s Basketball Power Index and moved up to No. 40 following the win. The Gators’ strength of schedule is ranked No. 22 while the strength of record sits at No. 70.

Next up for Florida are the Arkansas Razorbacks, who visit the Gators inside the O’Connell Center on Saturday, Feb. 18. The ‘Backs are currently ranked No. 18 in the BPI. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. EST and can be watched on ESPN2 or heard on the Gator Sports Network.

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Here’s how Florida basketball snapped its losing streak against Ole Miss

Here’s what Pat Dooley has to say about Florida’s Wednesday night win.

If you were wondering what the Florida basketball team would look like without its star center [autotag]Colin Castleton[/autotag], you found out in the second half Wednesday night.

Fortunately for the Gators, it was against the Ole Miss Rebels on their home floor.

Castleton left the game early in the second half with a hand injury, but the Orange and Blue prevailed with a 79-64 win in a game UF could not afford to lose. [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag]’s team kept up the pressure on offense in his absence and cruised to the victory.

The Gators are now 14-12 and 7-6 in the Southeastern Conference. Ole Miss falls to 10-16 and 2-11.

Florida basketball slips slightly in ESPN’s BPI after ‘Bama loss

The Gators slipped a notch from yesterday’s spot in ESPN’s BPI.

Todd Golden’s gang took a brutal loss on the road on Wednesday night at the hands of the third-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, who came out strong early and cruised to a 97-69 blowout victory over Florida. The Gators got a great performance out of [autotag]Colin Castleton[/autotag], who led all scorers with 29 points, but a sluggish start and a complete lack of defense sealed Florida’s fate.

Following the bludgeoning inside Coleman Coliseum, the Gators found themselves down one spot in ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, dropping from No. 36 to No. 37. Florida now has a projected win/loss of 17.7-13.3 overall and 10.7-7.3 in conference play, while the remaining strength of schedule is ranked No. 77.

Alabama remained ranked at No. 3 as it was prior to the game.

Next up for the Orange and Blue are the Vanderbilt Commodores, who travel to Gainesville to take on the Gators inside the O’Connell Center on Saturday, Feb. 11. Vandy is currently ranked No. 98 in the BPI. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. EST and the game can be followed by either watching the SEC Network or listening on the Gator Sports Network.

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Alabama dominates Florida in near 30-point blowout

Well, that was ugly… Florida got 29 and 10 from Colin Castleton and still lost by nearly 30 points to Alabama.

The Alabama Crimson Tide entered Wednesday night’s matchup with Florida a perfect 10-0 against conference opponents, and the Gators didn’t come close to slowing down the Tide’s undefeated run in an ugly 28-point rout.

Florida’s strength is typically on defense, but that wasn’t the case against Alabama. Freshman Brandon Miller scored every way possible and shut down each of Florida’s comeback bids. [autotag]Colin Castleton[/autotag] posted yet another 20-plus-point double-double and the Gators still lost by nearly 30 points.

Starting point guard [autotag]Kyle Lofton[/autotag], guard [autotag]Myreon Jones[/autotag] and forward [autotag]Alex Fudge[/autotag] combined to go 0-of-15 from the field, and Alabama’s bench more than doubled Florida’s bench’s production. It was domination from start to finish from the Tide. Florida led for precisely 0:00 of this game.

Alabama vs. Florida: Stream, injury report, broadcast info for Wed., Fed. 8

How to watch Alabama take on Florida on Wednesday night!

[autotag]Nate Oats[/autotag] and the Alabama men’s basketball team will be back in the confines of Coleman Coliseum on Wednesday night as they take on the Florida Gators.

Alabama (20-3) will look to remain unbeaten in SEC play when the Gators roll into town while the Gators (13-10) look to pull off one of the great upsets of the season.

This will be the first and only meeting between the two programs in the regular season this year.

If the Tide have hopes of winning the SEC regular season title, they have to take care of business at home. Especially before a tough two-game road stretch at Auburn and Tennessee.

Here is everything you need to know to catch the action between Alabama and Florida on Wednesday night.

 

CJ Felder rejoining Florida basketball team ahead of Alabama matchup

Florida basketball is getting CJ Felder back after he stepped away from the team due to personal reasons.

After missing eight games over three weeks away from the team, forward [autotag]CJ Felder[/autotag] is rejoining the Florida Gators, according to Chris Harry of the University Athletic Association.

Felder started the season off as a member of the Gators’ starting five, averaging 17 minutes per game through Florida’s first eight contests. Head coach [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag] switched up the lineup against Stetson on Dec. 4, moving Felder to the bench and decreasing his playing time significantly. He averaged just under nine minutes per game off the bench before stepping away from the team.

The hiatus and lack of playing time appear to be unrelated, and Felder’s absence was described as a personal decision at the time. Golden openly said that Felder was welcome back to the team, but the expectation was that he’d be out for the rest of the year.

Felder’s return is a good thing for both him and Florida. The Gators lack depth in the frontcourt with [autotag]Colin Castleton[/autotag] and [autotag]Jason Jitoboh[/autotag] as the only true big men on the roster. Felder isn’t massive, but he provides a bit more size to the four than [autotag]Will Richard[/autotag] does.

Alex Fudge will still likely serve as the team’s starting power forward, but Felder should slip right back into his old role now that he’s settled. It’s unclear if he’ll participate in Florida’s game against Alabama on Wednesday, but he will travel with the team for it.

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Gators have work to do in The Athletic’s NCAA Tournament bubble watch

Here’s what The Athletic had to say about Florida’s NCAA Tournament chances.

Florida basketball has been teetering on the edge of NCAA Tournament bracketologies all season in large part due to inconsistent play plus the inability to start the game strong as well as finish off comebacks.

This past week, the Gators showed their yin and yang by beating the then-second-ranked Tennessee Volunteers at home to vault them back onto the bubble before reverting back to their old ways on the road in a loss to the Kentucky Wildcats. The teeter-totter performances have been very pronounced in Southeastern Conference competition, in which the Orange and Blue now hold a 6-4 record as well as a 13-10 mark overall.

[autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag]’s team slipped off of Jerry Palm’s latest bracket predictions for CBS Sports and they will predictably fall from a few more once those updates are published. The Athletic’s Eammon Brennan followed up with his bubble watch article on Tuesday, in which he placed the Gators in the “work to do” category among fellow SEC schools. Here is what he had to offer.

Florida is back on the bubble, baby! It just didn’t feel the same around here without the Gators in the mix, but last week’s home win over Tennessee put them into the picture. A win at Kentucky would have added to the festivities, but the Wildcats held on. At the very least, Saturday’s defeat was a bit of a national highlight for [autotag]Colin Castleton[/autotag], who has quietly been having another excellent season in an excellent career, and who was fantastic in Rupp: 25 points, eight rebounds, five assists, three blocks, one steal. Can he lead them to the tournament? There is a decent chance. The Gators have lost a ton of games already, but almost all of these losses have come against quality opposition; their worst loss is a Quadrant 2 neutral court defeat to Oklahoma. Throw in a good schedule, the opportunities the SEC will continue throw up, and Castleton’s productivity as a baseline for performance, and sure: Florida could get there. Let’s see how Wednesday at Alabama goes.

Next up for Florida is the Alabama Crimson Tide, who host the Gators on Wednesday, Feb. 8, inside Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Nate Oats’ team is currently a “lock” in The Athletic’s update. Tipoff for the midweek affair is scheduled for 9 p.m. EST and the game can be followed by watching ESPN2 or listening to the Gator Sports Network.

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KenPom drops Florida basketball after road loss at Wildcats

The Gators slipped in both KenPom’s overall rankings and in adjusted defense, but saw some improvement in adjusted offensive rankings.

The high following Florida basketball’s midweek upset victory over the second-ranked Tennessee Volunteers did not last long as the Kentucky Wildcats snuffed the Orange and Blue inside Rupp Arena on Saturday night, 72-67, in a game that some of the Gators’ bad habits once again reared their ugly heads. [autotag]Colin Castleton[/autotag] was a beast for the visitors, leading all players with 25 points, but his efforts were not enough to overcome a poor start and some uncharacteristically shaky defense.

According to the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings, Florida dropped five spots from No. 34 to No. 39 following the defeat. The Gators’ adjusted offense improved to No. 135 but their adjusted defense dropped to No. 10 — a change of nine and two spots, respectively, from our previous update. Kentucky remained at No. 34 following its victory.

Next up for the Orange and Blue is another tough opponent in the fifth-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, who will host Florida on Wednesday, Feb. 8, inside Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The Tide are currently ranked No. 5 in KenPom. Tipoff for the midweek affair is scheduled for 9 p.m. EST and the game can be followed by watching ESPN2 or listening to the Gator Sports Network.

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Florida basketball slips slightly in NET rankings after UK loss

Unsurprisingly, the Gators lost a little ground in the NET rankings after Saturday’s loss, but it’s not much.

A slow start once again doomed Florida basketball, as the Kentucky Wildcats turned up the pressure for the entire 40 minutes and came away with a 72-67 win inside of Rupp Arena on Saturday night. [autotag]Colin Castleton[/autotag] had a game-high 25 points to lead all scorers, but his teammates’ inability to make clean passes and get back on transition defense made it all go to waste in the losing effort.

The Gators entered the game ranked No. 41 in the NET rankings and fell just two spots after the Quadrant 1 road loss to No. 43. Florida now holds a 2-8 record in Quad 1 games along with a 1-2 mark in Quad 2, 6-0 in Quad 3 and 4-0 in Quad 4. Kentucky stands pat at No. 31 following its Quad 1 win.

Next up for the Orange and Blue is another tough opponent in the fifth-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, who will host Florida on Wednesday, Feb. 8, inside Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The Tide are currently ranked No. 3 in the NET. Tipoff for the midweek affair is scheduled for 9 p.m. EST and the game can be followed by watching ESPN2 or listening to the Gator Sports Network.

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Instant recap from Florida basketball’s tough loss at Kentucky Wildcats

Pat Dooley dishes out his takeaways from Florida’s disappointing loss to the ‘Cats.

If someone had told you that [autotag]Colin Castleton[/autotag] would outscore Oscar Tshiebwe 25-4 in a battle of the two best centers in the SEC, you would have thought that was a good thing for Florida’s basketball team.

The difference is that Kentucky had more players step up and outlasted Florida, 72-67, Saturday night at Rupp Arena.

Kentucky shot 45% from the field against a team that prides itself in its defense and Florida missed a late chance to tie it.

Florida is now 13-10 and 6-4 in the SEC while Kentucky improved to 16-7 and 7-3.